Notes: Perithecia about half a millimeter in diameter; stromata generally two centimeters tall, with the stipe being about a millimeter in diameter and the perithecial part from the stroma two or three times that.

Substrate was dicot, with the bark still on. Habitat was cloud forest, collected in the rainy season.

You know, on second thought, I have talked with Paul briefly — he helped us out on a previous project with mushroom-mimicing Dracula orchids. The permitting that allowed us to bring home our Xylarias were secured through the tail end of that project, actually, so I’m sure if we can secure further funding we’ll work with him on this project too.

Actually, not. The project is still in its infancy, and I haven’t pushed up against the limits of what I can do myself yet, so I’ve not done much in the way of reaching out beyond my little bubble here in the PNW. I’ve talked to Jack Rogers, though, and I imagine I’ll end up talking to both Læssøe and Gamboa, as well as Anthony Whalley, before it’s all said and done, particularly with regards to the descriptive/systematics parts. At the moment though, I’m focusing on the ecological questions, which require a bit less in the way of Xylaria systematics expertise. It’s a relatively new project; we’re still hunting funding to continue beyond this one season’s worth of field work, and I’ve not wanted to start down a road I won’t have funds to continue down.

I’m working on Xylaria dispersal and endophytism, trying to figure out the role of the endophytic stage in the life-cycle of the fungus: I suspect it’s a foraging strategy, a way for the fungus to go looking for appropriate fruiting substrate. I’m also working more broadly on the life cycle, trying to figure out homo/heterothallism, mating, insect relationships, etc. It’s pretty cool stuff! The permitting required is, admittedly, a real bug-bear, and wouldn’t be possible with out some awesome help on the ground in Quito and collaborators in Ecuador.